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Campaign Progression: The Silent War
Nearing the end of 1373 Alusair and Cormyr's royalty and her people faced their darkest times. The Year of Rogue Dragons had not been kind to Cormyr but there were other troubles for the forest kingdom. Losing defacto control of large swaths of western lands to the Western Reach Accord had left a terrible burden on Alusair to take action against what many of the nobility perceived to be a severe weakness in the leader's ability to govern the forest kingdom. Whispers from the nobility turned into shouts for action and Alusair (being the excellent field leader and politician) hatched a plan to quiet the discontent and strengthen the resolve of her kingdom. While the War Wizards and others toiled to protect the kingdom from the latest threat of rogue dragons, she silently hatched a plan to re-unite the kingdom once and for all. A pair of Red Dragons were ravaging the southwest region of former Cormyr in the lands of the Western Reaches Accord; this accord which had never sat well with the crown was deemed too fragile to ignore. The time for action had come, the Western Reaches Accord would be nullified and the lands returned to Cormyr's fold. Redmist was attacked by raging dragons on several occasions from Ches to Mirtul and chaos was reigning there once more. Having survived the humanoid invasion and troubles brought on by the Dracorage, Alusair and her council turned to the nobility itself for support in her actions. She gathered her best and bravest knights in Suzail and called for an immediate conscription from noble lands. The nobility was shocked to realize that she was making them take action to turn the tide of discontent from which they themselves had created and it is rumored a War Wizard or two were dispatched to particularly troublesome nobilty to "convince" them action on their part was required. Most of the nobilty could only muster a handful of troops but Alusair authorized the release of a large undisclosed sum of gold from the royal coffers to round the force with mercenaries and adventurers. Another cog full of treasure was launched for Thay. Along with a sizable contingent of War Wizards she hoped that the nobilities forces would not only be seen to the front but would carry through on their actions once they arrived. A force of a a few hundred knights and squires, one hundred War Wizards, two thousand conscripted noble loyalist forces and an indeterminate amount of mercenaries and adventurers marched from Suzail on the night of the seventh day of Flamerule, 1373. Their first objective was to secure Redmist and quench the draconic attacks there and re-establish peace to the city. By a turn of good fortune the force sent to secure Redmist played a vital role in defending it from another series of savage attacks from both chromatic and metallic dragons who were among the dragonkind to succumb ot the effects of the Dracorage of 1373, the Year of Rogue Dragons. Secret diplomacy with the Thayans had been at work for several months regarding the Western Reaches Accord. In later years it would be told that the War Wizards had dispatched a clandestine group of operatives weeks prior to Alusair's march... the outcome of this is action is uncertain but it is told that none of the major actors in the Western Reaches Accord were anywhere to be found after the smoke had clearned from the Dracorage attacks. A frightened populace with little to defend themselves and unable to call on the Thayans for aid any longer, allowed the Steel Regent's rescuing force reside and rule. The people of Redmist were relieved to see Alusair's army on a determined march south along the coast of the Dragonmere. As the first contingent arrived in Redmist it became apparent that the ruling council held things together only by the barest of threads. Having just formed a year prior and still recovering from Lord Bloodstil's reign, they were now simply surviving the dragon attacks, rather then fighting it. Some of the council had perished in the fires and those remaining easily decided to give control to the Crown in favor of being able to live to see another day. Any of the old Redmist nobility that originally backed separation from the Crown had perished in the fires caused by the dragon attacks, had been removed, or had vanished prior to the army's arrival. No one could tell exactly when or how... perhaps they heard of the coming army and beat a hasty retreat south, or perhaps something more sinister had occurred. These were afterall, chaotic times. Redmist was declared free from attacks, Thayan influences and the War Wizards decreed it shall hence be known as Valkur's Roar as it was told that you could often hear Valkur's harmonic roar as the waves crashed upon the white cliffs of the nearby Dragonmere coast. Leaving a small contingent of mercenaries and War Wizards in Valkur's Roar, Alusair turned her attention to Isinhold, the sleepy village on the western border of Cormyr, nestled in the foothills of the Stormhorn mountains. When Alusair's army arrived and made camp southwest of Isinhold - there was no resistance to be found. The village, barely yet accustomed to being on its own, found no reason to resist the Crown's diplomacy to return to their fold, especially with the continued threat of attack by dragons driven mad by the Dracorage. Alusair dispatched a regent to the council who gladly accepted the proposal to return to the crown's control and protection, as long as the taxes remained low and the village could still govern its own daily affairs while abiding by Cormyrian law. Isinhold had once been the location of an elven stronghold and took its namesake from that time. Men on the village council had long grumbled that the elves held no more sway over Isinhold than the trolls and orcs to the north and had long wished it be called on the maps of Cormyr by its rightful name given to it by the men who came after the elves had left for their forests - Greatgaunt. It was called Greatgaunt because the valley in which it sits is a "gaunt eye" in the skull of the southern Stormhorns. After the first months of the Dracorage it was apparent that not only full blooded dragons were being affected. A number of well known half-dragons had also been either killed or detained after succumbing to it's effects. In the following weeks it was announced throughout the kingdom that the Order of War Wizards was working in concert with a number of independent Archmagi and the Scholars of the Alizarin Academy to suppress the effects of the Dracorage in the detained half-dragons. It was announced soon after that a method of suppressing the rage had been found and was being offered to any who came forward at the War Wizards Tower, the Alizarin Academy, Stormhaven House and at other remote locations where full blooded wyrms could approach without alarming an already on-edge populace. Thanks to the efforts of these organizations and individuals the dracorage was held somewhat in check and the damage was minimized. As 1373 turned to 1374 the threat of the Dracorage waned and Alusair released the mercenaries and adventurers to the countryside who readily returned to their former activities in Cormyr and who many of which simply wintered down. Alusair marched her knights and War Wizards back to Suzail where they were called to return to duty in the embattled lands from whence she had gathered them. The nobility was happy that their conscripted soldiers returned no worse for wear and Alusair had sufficiently quieted their concerns regarding her leadership. Without a battle fought the Western Reaches Accord was declared void by the crown and Alusair's action became known as the Silent War. The Thayans accepted their payment for the nullification of the accord and the lands were brought (some might say bought) back into Cormyr's fold. The year is now 1374, and it will be a pivotal year for Cormyr as new challenges to the crown's authority rise and old challenges continue to pose problems for the forest kingdom. The Silent War was a great success for Alusair, however she understands all too well that she cannot keep large garrisons of knights in Valkur's Roar and Greatgaunt to oversee their return to the crown's authority. She is hopeful that the show of force and negociation is enough to ensure compliance with her wishes and keep her realm together. Only time will tell as her time on the throne of a reunited Cormyr the Forest Kingdom grinds forth. Category:Lore